Self-Portrait

Description

Bust-length self-portrait of Sarah Miriam Peale (1800-1885). Peale executed her first self-portrait around 1818, depicting herself in bright red velvet drapery. This later self-portrait shows an older, wiser, and more confident woman who was an established artist. By 1830, Sarah was an accomplished portraitist who had been nominated to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, an honor she rarely referenced. Of the five Peale women in her generation, Sarah was the most self-determined. In 1847, she traveled to St. Louis, escaping what she thought was the overly conventional society of Baltimore and seeking additional recognition for her artist accomplishments. She continued to be a recognized and prolific painter throughout her life, creating superb still-life paintings in her later years.